The Ripples of Substitution
by Mach Twelve
Summary: What if one of the Konoha 9 were to be replaced by an OC. How much would change. Would events take a different course or is fate unchanging? I will follow canon as much as possible, but I can only say that for sure for the first few chapters.


My name is Ryuu Seishin. I have lived in Konoha as long as I can remember but I know that I was not born here. My parents were traveling salesmen who went from country to country buying and selling goods and services to the people that they met in their travels. They were not wealthy but they didn't lack. One faithful day in July I was born to these people during their tour of the Nation of Fire, arguably the wealthiest nation within the known world. My parents always made a point to stay in Konoha during the fall festival to be with distant relatives of my mothers.

As luck would have it, this little furball called the Kyuubi no Kitsune, also known as the Nine Tailed Demon Fox to some, decided to drop by and attack the ninja village during my parent's annual visit to the Leaf. Luckily for me, I was sleeping peacefully in my crib across town, watched by my third or fourth cousin. My parents, on the other hand, were making a deal with a past client about a special katana that my father managed to acquire from a villager that did not realize what they possessed. Their location also happened to be the epicenter on which the fox would arrive.

In the confusion, my parents were killed, leaving me an orphan. I would think losing one's parents would be traumatic, but since I don't even remember my own parents, it's easy to not make a big deal out of their death. After the deaths of my parents, I was taken in by one of my mother's relatives. Most of my mother's family did not approve of my father, but one, who I would know as my Auntie, was nice enough to care for me and teach me about life and my family. It's too bad that Auntie had to get sick and die on me. Auntie's death hurt me more than my own parents. But what hurt even more was realizing that I was alone, with nowhere to go and no one to turn too. I gathered what little I had and decided to continue to move on.

So with no one to take me in and all the orphanages overflowing with Kyuubi orphans like me, I decided to hit the streets and live on my own. How, you may ask. I lived on the limited goodwill of others and when that wasn't enough, as it often was, I simply begged, borrowed, and stole. Mostly stole. I had difficulty the first few times, and got caught, but I became better quickly. When the shopkeeper was leaving, sometimes I would notice he would exit the main door but leave the side door unlocked. Easy pickings. I got myself a nice sleeping bag doing that and many a meal too.

When I got to the proper age, I decided to register to the local ninja academy. As good as I was at stealing; I wanted to have a legitimate source of income. Also, the stipend orphaned students got for living expenses was pretty reasonable. I actually managed to afford food and an apartment with it. Still had to steal everything else though, but at that point I didn't have to have a nightly swipe to be able to survive.

Speaking of my apartment, it's next to the apartment of none other than Naruto Uzumaki, a fellow classmate. For some inexplicable reason, the villagers seem to dislike the kid. Dislike really isn't the right word. You don't make angry remarks about people you dislike in public. You don't vandalize the homes of those you dislike. You definitely don't chase people you dislike in angry mobs carrying various weapons. These people hate the idiot. And don't get me wrong, the kid is an idiot. I don't like hyperactive, loud, and boastful people. And that's what Uzumaki is. Now, I'm not about to take my stolen pitchfork and join next week's mob but I'm not extending the hand of friendship either. At least he stays quiet when he is in his apartment, which helps me read.

I generally like reading. Sure there aren't boring subjects, but I like most. Particularly, I like reading up on ninja techniques. I know quite a bit about everything, but since I don't practice any of it, I don't know how to use it. But not much the chuunin and jonin do nowadays surprises me. Leaves me in awe, yes, but no surprises. Within the academy, I am dead average by choice. Out of thirty students I am ranked fifteen. I could score higher, but then everyone would expect more out of me. Another thing I don't like, expectations. I don't like disappointing people but their expectations tend to lead to failure and then disappointment. Better to have them think less of me. Then when it really matters, I can surprise them.

The genin exams are today, so I need to head out to take them, hopefully I will have correctly judged my fellow students abilities and I'll appear to be dead average again. I've been wrong only once before, but I think I can get it this time.

* * *

><p>Author's Corner<p>

Welcome to my story, the beast of my own creation.

In this story I will be substituting one of the canon characters with the OC described above. The best part is that you the reviewers, get to decide which one. Sakura is the default (my vote, yes I get a vote too =P), so if no one responds at least we have a canon character. This fic will mirror the events of canon, but with slightly different results due to the presence of my OC instead of another character. If the OC is placed in a team other than team 7, I'll just invent a series of events that leads to a result similar to the net results of the Land of Waves Arc. I will try to respond to each review in this corner as well. Well bye bye and have a nice holiday season!


End file.
